FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DADE COUNTY - PAGE 4

The establishment of south Palm Beach County branches for two national Jewish organizations indicates that not only is Florida`s Jewish population shifting north from Dade County, but that an indigenous power base has developed here as well. In recent months, both the American Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee have announced new bases in Boca Raton. "The demographics indicate a steady move north in terms of the centroid of Jewish population," said William Gralnick, the southeast regional director of the American Jewish Committee, who just moved to Boca Raton from Miami.

Six months later, it still looks like hell. On Krome Avenue south of Homestead, the metal skeleton of a mom-and-pop motel stands bare and blood red where the sheathing was ripped away by some ungodly predator. In Goulds, house after battered house is boarded up and empty, waiting for repairs, or more likely, demolition. In Country Walk, a brown stone fireplace pokes up from a clear slab of concrete that once cradled a family`s life. The rest has been torn down and trucked away. Six months later, six months after Hurricane Andrew, it`s still bad in south Dade County, bad enough that your stomach tightens and your mouth drops a bit when you see it. But even in the midst of the devastation, it`s clear that things are getting better.

Dade County is not Miami, Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas kept repeating, mantra-like, during a Bloomberg Forum on Wednesday. The stop was the latest in a three-day road show intended to separate Dade from the troubles of its most populous and well-known city, Miami. "Despite what people are reading about the city of Miami, the Greater Miami area and Dade County still remains a very viable and healthy place for people to visit and invest money," said Penelas, 34, the youngest elected member of Dade County government.

Barnett Banks moved to increase its presence in South Florida on Thursday by announcing that it had reached an agreement in principle to purchase Republic National Bank in Miami. The announcement follows the sale of Barnett's Georgia branches to SouthTrust Corp. The offices hold some $250 million in assets. Neither Barnett nor Republic would comment on their agreement. A purchase price was not disclosed. However, Ron Goff, first vice president of corporate finance at William R. Hough, said he believed the sale price would be in the range of two or three times book value.

MIAMI -- Broward County economic development efforts are seldom controversial. Except when they happen in neighboring Dade County. And that`s what happened on Thursday during cocktail hour. In one room at the Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel, Broward County business leaders set up booths decorated in red, white, blue, and C&S green. In another room on the same floor of the hotel at the same time on Thursday, Dade County business leaders milled to reggae music in a room decorated with pink flamingos and stuffed plush parrots.

A roving band of marauders has terrified Dade County's tightly knit Haitian community in the past eight months, killing at least 11 people and robbing 30 others, police said on Thursday. Wearing ski masks and toting automatic weapons, the band has gunned down Haitian business owners in their driveways. They have awakened others in the middle of the night with a slap and a bullet. "My father died for nothing, nothing," said Jean-Rony Noel, 17, whose father Villard, a construction worker, was shot Feb. 28. "He never carried a lot of money."

Tri-Rail passengers won't face service cuts or higher prices anytime soon, despite Dade County's refusal to contribute to the commuter line. Tri-Rail officials last month said they were considering eliminating weekend service, cutting weekday service and even increasing ticket prices for passengers going to and from Dade. But through good fortune and creative financing, Tri-Rail will be able to fill the hole left by Dade, officials said on Friday. "I'm proud of them," said Paul McDermott, who rides the train daily from Boca Raton to Miami, where he works as an air traffic controller.

By Stuart McIver, Staff Writer (STUART McIVER is an author and historian. His regular column, ``The Way We Were,`` will return next week.), August 11, 1985

The town where it happened is gone, a victim of time and tropical vegetation. Visiting Indian Key today, it`s hard to believe that this quiet 11-acre island was once the seat of Dade County, a bustling seaport of some 60 souls, and the scene of two of the bloodiest massacres in Florida history. All that`s left is a dock maintained by the Florida State Division of Recreation and Parks, a trail that meanders through the island, and the dense foliage that serves as a final memorial to the famous horticulturist who was murdered here.

Luis Leoa` is a believer. He throws the shells and interprets what they tell him. He crumbles herbs and leaves and uses them in rituals. And in a shiny blue tureen in the back of his Lake Worth upholstery shop, he keeps something private and sacred. Leoa` is a Cuban who came to this country seven years ago. He still speaks his native language and practices his native religion. He is a santeros -- a Santeria priest. He`s an unlikely looking holy man with a stubble of beard and a near toothless smile.

For years, it was the butt of jokes. Ojus was that tiny ex-town tucked between Biscayne Boulevard and the railroad tracks in north Dade County. It was too small, too ugly and its name sounded funny, most people quipped. About the only respect Ojus could muster was having its name still on the Dade County map. Now that is gone, too. Recently, map makers at Rand-McNally & Co. mistakenly wiped Ojus off the map and replaced it with the fancier-sounding Aventura. Ojus pioneers say they can take any insult Ojus-bashers want to dish out, but striking their town from the map is the last straw.